summary jurisdiction

noun

The authority of a court of law to summarily issue a conviction, typically for a petty crime, without requiring a trial by jury.

First used 18th c.
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Meanings

nounsummary jurisdiction (uncountable)
  1. uncountablelawThe authority of a court of law to summarily issue a conviction, typically for a petty crime, without requiring a trial by jury.First known use 18th c.

    […] I would (so far as regards children under fourteen years) take from magistrates their present power of summary jurisdiction, and substitute very extensive powers of a different nature ; […]

    1849, John Adams, Summary Jurisdiction: A Charge to the Grand Jury of the Quarter Sessions of the County of Middlesex, page 17

Origin

Compound of summary + jurisdiction.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

summary jurisdiction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summary%20jurisdiction

MLA

“summary jurisdiction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summary%20jurisdiction. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “summary jurisdiction,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/summary%20jurisdiction.

Source: summary jurisdiction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.